Heathcliff Farrugia has taken the reins of the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), replacing his former boss Joseph Cuschieri who now heads the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA).

On Monday, the MGA announced that Farrugia has been appointed as the new chief executive officer of the Malta gaming regulator, effective April 24.

Cuschieri’s longtime lieutenant joined the MGA in 2014 as its chief operations officer, and was “pivotal in the transformation process” of the agency. In 2016, Farrugia was appointed as chief regulatory officer, a role that saw him taking responsibility for all regulatory activities of MGA particularly on areas including regulatory supervision, authorizations, compliances and player support.

Farrugia, who holds an MBA from the University of Leicester, UK, was also a member of the Supervisory Council and co-chaired the agency’s Fit & Proper Committee—a unit tasked with assessing companies and individuals applying for an MGA license.